It is time to officially put the wraps on another exciting year of high school sports in the St. Louis metropolitan area with our annual St. Louis American Prep Year in Review. Here is a list of some of the great events from the 2007-08 high school sports season.
*Simply the Best: Belleville Althoff tailback Jason Ford became the all-time leading rusher in the history of St. Louis metropolitan area prep football. A four-year starter, Ford finished his career with 6,415 yards rushing to pass former All-American Tony Van Zant for the top spot. Ford, who also scored 75 touchdowns in his prep career, is headed to the University of Illinois.
*Double your Pleasure: The boys and girls of East St. Louis and McCluer South-Berkeley brought home state titles from their respective state track and field championships this spring. East Side’s girls won their first IHSA Class AA state title under legendary coach Nino Fennoy behind the greatness of sprinter Ronecia Nash. The boys followed a week later with a great team effort and a repeat state-championship performance from hurdler Kraig Appleton. McCluer South-Berkley’s girls repeated as Class 3 state champions in Missouri while the boys surprised many by grinding their way to the state championship.
*Alishea the Great: McCluer South-Berkeley track star Alishea Usery concluded a spectacular career by sweeping the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes at the Class 3 state meet in Jefferson City. Usery finished her career with 12 individual state championships, 15 total state titles, two team state championships and a host of state records. She also graduated No. 2 in her senior class as well.
*A Rayon of Hope: CBC football standout Rayon Simmons had a high school swan song to remember. In the last game of his prep career, Simmons rushed for 533 yards and scored seven touchdowns to lead the Cadets to a victory over Parkway South.
*The Price is Right: Normandy High’s Darwin Price made history by becoming the first large school athlete in Missouri to sweep the 800, 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs at the Class 4 state championships in Jefferson City. Price emerged as the state’s dominant distance runner while maintaining his place as one of the nation’s top amateur boxers at the same time.
*The Comeback: In an All-St. Louis final, Maplewood defeated Lutheran North 56-55 to win the Class 3 boys state championship in basketball. The Blue Devils trailed by 19 points, but came all the way back to win on a driving layup by star guard Bryant Allen with two seconds left in the game. Allen averaged more than 25 points a game to lead the Blue Devils to their first state championship.
*Flyin’ High: The East St. Louis Flyers restored their great football tradition by advancing to the IHSA Class 7A state semifinals. The future looks even brighter for coach Darren Sunkett as he returns all of his offensive weapons for the upcoming season, including receivers Terry Hawthorne, Kraig Appleton, quarterback Detchauz Ray and tailbacks Courtney Molton and Vincent Arterbridge. East Side will be nationally-ranked in the preseason.
*Mr. 3,000: Junior tailback Montee Ball reached the magical 3,000-yard plateau for rushing in a single season in leading Timberland to a berth in the Class 4 state quarterfinals. Ball fell just short of Hickey Thompson’s (former Althoff star) all-time record for single-season rushing yardage. Ball recently gave a verbal commitment to attend the University of Wisconsin. Ball is within strking distance of Jason Ford’s all-time career rushing mark.
*The Undefeated: Wrestlers Ryan Mango of Whitfield and Esmond Ford of Affton were individual state champions at the state wrestling championships last winter while completing undefeated seasons. Mango won the Class 1 title at 119 pounds while compiling a record of 45-0 while Ford was the Class 3 state champion at 140 pounds with a record of 43-0.
*Turn the Paige: The Lebanon girls’ softball team rode the right arm of pitcher Paige Washington all the way to a berth in the IHSA Class 1A state tournament. Washington won 23 games this season, including a no-hitter against Virginia in the Super-Sectionals. Washington also hit a team-leading .495 with four home runs and 31 runs batted in.
*Lisa-Lisa: Hazelwood Central made a surprising run to the Final Four of the Class girls state soccer tournament behind the stellar play of junior midfielder Lisa Wren, who scored five goals and had one assist during the Hawks impressive postseason run to a fourth-place finish.
Here are the St. Louis American Athletes of the Year by their sport:
Football (Offense): Montee Ball (Timberland)
Football (Defense): Brandon Harrold (East St. Louis)
Cross Country: Darwin Price (Normandy)
Volleyball: Brittney Brimmage (East St. Louis)
Tennis: Brandi Hudson (Hazelwood West)
Boys Basketball: Scott Suggs (Washington)
Bryant Allen (Maplewood)
Girls Basketball: Teandrea Smith (East St. Louis)
Wrestling: Ryan Mango (Whitfield)
Esmond Ford (Affton)
Baseball: Derrick Phillips (Westminster Christian)
Boys Track: Darwin Price (Normandy)
Girls Track: Alishea Usery (McCluer South-Berkeley)
Ronecia Nash (East St. Louis)
Soccer: Lisa Wren (Hazelwood Central)
Softball: Paige Washington (Lebanon)